Looking at some photos recently of a memorable family trip to the south of France, I noted many were of market scenes — not an unusual interest for a food writer.
One picture showed a woman selling tapenade, a flavourful mixture whose key ingredient is olives.
What was incredible about her stall was that she was not selling smalls jars or tubs of it, as you might find in a deli in Canada. She was selling it out of giant vats from which shoppers could buy as much as they wanted. Those giant vats suggested she was going to sell a lot of tapenade that day. That’s not surprising because tapenade has been popular in that part of the world for a long time.
According to the book Jacques Pepin’s Table, tapenade comes from the word tapeno, which means “capers” in Provence, in southwestern France, from where tapenade originates. If you are wondering why it’s named after capers and not olives, here’s the answer.
Award-winning author and Mediterranean food expert Clifford A. Wright says on his website (cliffordawright.com) that capers were brought to Provence from Crete by the Phocaeans, They were Greeks from Asia Minor who settled near Marseilles in the sixth century B.C.
He says the flower buds, the part of the caper used for culinary purposes, were preserved with olive oil in vessels called amphoras. He notes the capers became mushed together in those amphoras and formed a kind of paste of crushed tapeno (capers).
Wright calls this the ancestor of the modern tapenade. These days, although capers and olive oil are still used, olives are by volume the main ingredient in tapenade. It’s also often flavoured with anchovies.
Beyond that classic mixture, these days many other styles of tapenade are being blended together, including those accented with such things as truffles, herbs, dried fruit and sun-dried tomatoes.
Below you’ll find three recipes that showcase some of the different ways it can be flavoured.
Those three types of tapenade, and other styles of it, can be used in a variety of ways. Here are a few examples:
• Blend tapenade with mayonnaise to create a dip for raw vegetables.
• Use tapenade as a spread for Mediterranean-style sandwiches filled with such things as sliced tomatoes, grilled vegetables, cheese and salami or other deli meats.
• Use tapenade as a pizza topping, or as a topping for crostini.
• Make a simple appetizer by setting a bowl of tapenade on a platter with a piece of Brie or other creamy cheese, such as goat. Set some sliced baguette or crackers around the tapenade and cheese and let diners spread the cheese and tapenade on it.
• Toss tapenade into a hot pasta dish, or into a cold pasta salad.
• Spread tapenade on salmon or halibut fillets before baking them.
• Lift the skin up from whole chicken legs and slide some tapenade underneath it. Put the skin back in place, and roast the chicken until cooked through and delicious.
Niçoise Olive Tapenade
The small, richly flavoured, purplish black niçoise olives used in this classic-style of tapenade can be found in the deli section of some supermarkets. If you can’t find them, you could try another type of pitted black olive in this recipe, such as kalamata.
Preparation time: Five minutes
Cook time: None
Makes: About 1 cup
1 cup pitted Niçoise olives
4 anchovy fillets
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp capers
2 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or oregano
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined, but still slightly coarse in texture. Do not turn into a very smooth paste.
Transfer the tapenade to a tight sealing container and refrigerate until needed. It will keep for two weeks. Warm the tapenade to room temperature before serving.
Olive, Almond and Apricot Tapenade
Sweet and slightly sour tasting dried apricots add an intriguing taste to this vibrant tapenade that’s also rich with olives, garlic, balsamic vinegar and nuts.
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Cooking time: None
Makes: 2 cups
1 cup dried apricots (about 26 to 28)
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place the apricots in a pot, cover with cold water and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and let the apricots plump up in the water for 15 minutes. Drain the warm apricots and place in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until well combined, but still slightly coarse in texture. Do not turn into a very smooth paste.
Transfer the tapenade to a tight sealing container and refrigerate until needed. It will keep at least two weeks. Warm the tapenade to room temperature before serving.
Green Olive and Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade
This sweet, salty, herbaceous and tangy spread tastes great spooned on sliced baguette or crackers. It tastes even better if you also set on some creamy cheese, such as goat or Brie.
Preparation time: Five minutes
Cooking time: None
Makes: About 2 cups
1 1/2 cups pitted green olives
8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp capers
2 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 anchovy fillets
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh oregano or basil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined, but still slightly coarse in texture. Do not turn into a very smooth paste. Transfer the tapenade to a tight sealing container and refrigerate until needed. It will keep at least two weeks. Warm the tapenade to room temperature before serving.
Eric Akis is the author of the hardcover book Everyone Can Cook Everything. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
> See Eric’s Canada Day Quiz responses, page C3
